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I’ve been involved in refereeing, one way or another, both on and off the field, since the 1970/71 season. I’ve also been involved in training and mentoring match officials up to World Cup level, including a final in 1998 when Achmet Salie from Cape Town ran the line in Paris between France and Brazil, a match won 3-0 by the home team.
I’ve seen different referees at different levels of the game performing to different grades and to different standards but I have yet to see a performance like the one I witnessed in the recent Uefa Champions League quarterfinal between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, April 17.
There is only one way to describe this performance, as par excellence, and this gentleman epitomised what refereeing is all about.
Turkish referee, Cüneyt Çakir, gave a master class in officiating Z the likes of which I rarely witness today. He was cool under pressure, decisive in his decision- making, and professional and objective in every aspect of the game.
You may remember that it seemed Manchester City had scored what would have been the winning goal late into time added on after the 90 minutes but it was not to be.
The goal was contested, as is the right of the team conceding the goal. This is one of only four occasions when a decision can be referred to the video assistant referee (VAR). The other three being Mistaken Identity, Direct Red cards, and Penalty Decisions.
My personal opinion is that Çakir is one of the coolest, if not the coolest guy with the whistle today and it’s no surprise that he is so well respected around the world.
He made his international refereeing debut in the 2008/09 Uefa Cup. In 2009/10, he took charge of a semi-final in the competition, one of seven matches he refereed in that tournament.
Never afraid to issue the ultimate sanction, in the Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Chelsea, he red-carded Chelsea’s captain John Terry. I have seen other referees shy away from issuing a red card, but not him. This man has guts.
He certainly can’t be called a “homer” because, on March 5 2013 while refereeing Manchester United against Real Madrid at Old Trafford (home of Man Utd), he red-carded the United mid-fielder Nani during the second half.
Sir Alex Ferguson was not a happy chappie when I sent off his captain Bryan Robson in Ellis Park on July 25 1993 but Çakir was not fazed and kept his cool throughout the controversial incident.
He continued his consistent progress and refereed two semi-finals at two different World Cups, the first in 2014 between the Netherlands and Argentina in São Paulo and the second between Croatia and England in Moscow in 2018.
He continues to be consistent and fair to both teams and my fervent wish is that he will get a World Cup final in Qatar in 2022.
If he does, it will be well deserved and a true reward and recognition for this match official.
In my opinion, he is a rare breed because he doesn’t give in to silly, frivolous protests from either players or coaches. He’s proven he is way up there as far as referee standards are concerned and, in my opinion, he’s probably, if not definitely one of the top three in the world at the moment.
He’s an example to all aspiring referees of what can and should be done to achieve a place at the top table of match officiating.
Look and learn all you refs out there.
Happy whistling!
- sports@citypress.co.za
Follow me on Twitter @dr_errol
[Please send your questions for The Hanging Judge to sports@citypress.co.za]
